Secrets
by lostariel.merilwen01
Summary: What if Gretchen was revealed as Aragorn's final heir, thus being pulled into a world of elves along with her immortal friend Claire? On hiatus no longer, but updates are still very slow in coming.
1. Trapped

**Hey guys! So, this is my first story on FanFiction (YAY!) and I am very excited. I would really like to receive some feedback from you guys about really anything t do with the story (what you think would be cool to happen, when you would like things to happen, any mistakes, and questions or even just your thoughts). Thanks! **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything. Now leave me alone.**

When Claire opened her eyes, there was darkness. Complete darkness.

Claire had always found it strange when she was younger that at night in her room, if she closed her eyes and then opened them, nothing would change with what she saw. It would still be dark. She used to even be amused by it. But not at the moment.

When she found it amusing, she was in her room, safe and sound, in a house with her family and she could hear her parents moving around doing things downstairs. But where she was now could not have been more different.

_Where am I? _Claire thought to herself. _What happened? _The last thing she could remember was running through streets with another person. A man.

Claire frowned. _Who was the man?_ She couldn't remember much. All she remembered was being at home, getting a phone call and leaving a note for Gretchen. Then she got on a plane, flew to somewhere and was part of an operation, but she couldn't remember what it was, where it was, or even who she was with. All she could remember was fuzzy faces that she couldn't recognise.

_Well, I can work that out later. For now, I just need to work out how to get out of here. _It was then that Claire realised that she didn't even know where here was. All she knew was that it was dark. She pushed her right arm out as far as it could go, only to discover that it couldn't go out very far before it hit wood. She ran her hand up the wood to see how far it would go, but her hand was stopped soon also. Wherever she was, it was only half a meter tall, maybe a little taller.

Claire moved her hand along the ceiling, and tried to push upwards, only to discover that she couldn't move it a bit. She moved her left hand out, expecting it to meet another wooden wall, but it didn't. Instead, it was something firm, but not quite as hard as a wooden wall. She moved her hand along it, and found that whatever it was went up, and then there was a corner and her hand slid down for a moment before coming to a stop almost immediately. _Wait a minute, was that a shoulder? _She moved her hand around a bit more, and found a face.

She had to find light. Somehow, she had to find out who, or what, was next to her. She moved her hand to his neck, and searched for a pulse, but found none. She was trapped in a wooden box of some sort with a dead person.

All of a sudden she found it hard to breathe as panic claimed her. She gasped for air. _Breathe Claire. Just breathe. That's all that matters. You are going to get out of here. _Tears streamed down her face and sobs racked her body. _Think, Claire. Think. Light. You have to find light. _Then it hit her. Her cell phone. If she had it in her pocket. She reached into the pocket of her jeans and was relieved when her hand came into contact with the small, seemingly insignificant device that might just save her life.

Turning it on, she first shone the light onto the man next to her, and nearly cried out when she saw the pained look on his lifeless face. He had not died peacefully. She looked at the rest of him to see if there was any indication as to how he died, but she could see none. She reached out and turned him over, and it was then that she spotted the blood all over his back. Three shots to the back. Someone had killed him and put both of them in the box.

But what she didn't understand, was why she woke up. She couldn't be knocked unconscious for more than a few seconds due to her ability to heal almost instantly. She couldn't be killed by injury, sickness or old age. She just regenerated. She didn't even age. So she couldn't have been knocked out, and she couldn't have just slept through being moved into a box with a dead man. So why did she just suddenly wake up to this? She should remember something, but she didn't.

Shoving the man back over so she wasn't faced with his blood every time she looked to her left, Claire fought for control once more._ Breathe in. Breathe out. In. Out. _She attempted to force herself to calm down and think, but she couldn't. Sobs once more racked her body and she was truly afraid. For someone that was impossible to kill, she was really scared.

**I got the idea for Claire being trapped while watching an Alias episode with my mum and my sister, so I can't take credit for that. But I have tried to make it a bit different, so I hope you enjoy it. I don't like copying other people's stuff and I prefer to have my own ideas and do my own thing, but in this case I just felt that the whole freaky trapped thing was a really good opening to the story, and it is a bit different since in Alias, Sydney is trapped and nearly dies and runs out of air, but Claire can't, since she just regenerates. But she can get scared, and she does. **

**So peeps, please leave a review and tell me what you think. :)**


	2. Information

**HI GUYS! So this is my Heroes/LOTR story, and I hope you like it. I would really appreciate some feedback, as this is my first fanfiction story and if there is anything wrong I would like to correct it. I am not _entirely_ sure how I want this story to go so I would LOVE it if you could suggest how you want the story to turn out, and I will think about it. **

**DISCLAIMER: Anything you recognise from either Heroes or Lord of the Rings does not belong to me, however, anything you don't recognise belongs to me. **

Prologue

Gretchen sighed and walked up the front steps of the little house she shared with her friend, Claire. It was old, run down and badly kept, but it was home for the two girls at the moment.

Switching the shopping bags from one hand to the other, she tugged her keys from her pocket, used her teeth to get the right one, and, after much struggling, finally managed to open the door. Marching into her home, (if that's what you could call it) she kicked the door shut behind her, not bothering to lock it.

The young woman then proceeded to unpack all the groceries and put them in their proper places around the kitchen. As she went to open the fridge, she spotted the note held on the front of it with duct tape, with Claire's small, loopy handwriting scrawled all over it.

_Dear Gretchen, _

_I have been unexpectedly called out of town for a meeting with my father. I should be back by Tuesday afternoon, but if I'm not, don't be too worried. After all, it is my father and anything can happen. Anyway, I'll see you when I get back!_

_Your Friend, _

_Claire_

_P.S. Don't get into any trouble while I'm gone!_

Gretchen frowned. _That's weird. I thought she was still angry at her father. _

She moaned. She had planned a whole movie marathon with Claire for the night. _Obviously NOT going to happen, _she thought to herself. It had been so long since they had gotten to spend time together as they had both been busy with work and other things lately.

She finished unpacking the groceries and went to take a shower, She grabbed her clothes from her small bedroom and entered the bathroom.

The moment the warm water hit her all her stress and worries left her. She washed herself, and then stood in the shower for quite a while just letting the warm water hit her back. For a moment she thought she heard a noise somewhere in the rest of the small house, but soon dismissed it as just her over active imagination.

Boy was she wrong.

Haldir of Lothlorien walked up to the front door of the small home. He had just seen the young woman enter it, and wished to speak with her. He hadn't seen her clearly, but she had looked so familiar, just like his old friends.

He knocked on the door, but got no answer. Sighing, he tried the door knob. It turned with no trouble. She had left the house unlocked. For a moment he pondered trying the back door of the house, but he didn't want to alarm her. He was just here to talk to her, after all.

Walking into the house, Haldir called out. "Hello? Anyone home? I know you are in here! Hello?" But there was no answer. He looked around and took note of what he saw.

It was a plain, old, undecorated house. The furniture was boring and the carpets were old. It had a certain smell to it, not unpleasant, but not pleasant either.

"Hello!" He called again. He walked further into the house, and heard the shower running. _So that's why she didn't reply, _he thought to himself. _Well, might as well stick around until she gets out. _

The shower turned off. Haldir decided to wait outside so he didn't alarm her too much. Walking back out, he quietly closed the front door behind him and decided to wait for a few minutes before knocking on the door again.

He looked around the neighbourhood. It had nice shrubs and small trees dotted here and there, but the ground was mainly grass and cement. It was starting to get dark, and there weren't many people walking around, as most would be inside to escape the mosquitoes at this time of the afternoon. The occasional car passed, the driver on the way home from working a little late, but other than that it was fairly quiet.

Haldir decided to try again. He stepped forward and knocked on the door. There was some noise from inside, and a little banging, until the door opened at last, revealing the descendant of Aragorn and Arwen.

Haldir examined the woman before him. She was tall, but not too tall. Her hair was wet, and obviously darker than normal due to this, but he guessed that when it dried it would very much resemble Arwen's. Her eyes were grey, just like Aragorn's, an her face was oval shaped, like Arwen's. She wore track suit pants and a loose T-shirt.

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Hello? Can I help you?" she asked.

"Oh hello. My name is Haldir. I was just wondering if I could talk to you for a moment?" came the reply. Before her stood a tall man with blonde hair and bright blue eyes

Uncertainty filled her eyes and was obvious in her movements as her hand grasped the door frame and she tapped her left foot on the ground. "Um, well, I guess. What can I help you with?"

"I was just hoping to be able to discuss your ancestry with you. You see, there is an estate all the way in Europe that I believe may belong to you." He replied.

Gretchen frowned. "Well, I have honestly no idea what you are talking about, and I am afraid I may not be much help when it comes to my ancestry. You see, I've never really been interested in that sort of thing. I am more of a 'live in the moment' kind of person."

"I understand completely. But in that case, you may find a lot more is revealed in this discussion as to your origins then you ever imagined."

"All right then. Um, here, come on in. Sorry for the state of the house. I am not used to visitors. It's usually just me and my friend here." The two walked through the house and into the kitchen/dining room area.

"You live with a friend?"

"Yes, her name is Claire. We go to college together, or at least we did. Then she dropped out, but we still stay together."

"Aren't there dorm rooms at the college?"

"Well, yes, but if you stay there and you don't already attend the college it costs a lot more. Claire needed a place to stay in the area or she would have had to go live with her father, so we decided to stick together and just get a small place near the college. And so, this place was the cheapest we could find."

"Okay then. Where is your friend at the moment?"

Gretchen frowned. "Umm, I am not sure. Why do you ask?" She replied suspiciously.

"Oh, I was just wondering. Our conversation may last for a while, and it would be best that we were not interrupted. It all depends I suppoes."

"Depends on what?"

"On how you react to what I am about to tell you."

"Okay...Ummm, would you like something to eat or drink?"

"No thank you. I stopped by a cafe on my way and got some coffee and a piece of cake, so I am all right."

"All right." Gretchen replied. She gestured towards the table. "Please, take a seat."

Haldir smiled and sat down at the small table, meant for two or three people to dine at at a time. Gretchen sat across from him.

"So...you said you wanted to talk about my ancestry or something?"

"Ah, yes, of course. You see Miss Berg, you come from a long line of very special people."

"What kind of special people?" Gretchen asked, thinking about all the people with special abilities that Claire had told her about, and even introduced her to some of them.

"Well, you see, your ancestry goes a very long way back. All the way back to medieval times, in fact. Your ancestors, Elessar Telcontar and Arwen Undomiel, were in fact the king and queen of a kingdom by the name of Gondor. Over time, their descendants spread all over the place, some ending up in many different countries. Most of them have been lost track of, but those who remain known to my organisation are very few."

"Your organisation?"

"Yes. I work for a small organisation by the name of 'The Greenleaf Group', named after the man who provides the money to keep the group going. You see Miss Berg, you are not just a normal, ordinary person. King Elessar Telcontar was a very important person, especially back in his day. His courage, honour and incredible kindness was very rare, and he was a fine king to his people. All loved him, and he was greatly respected. It is believed that his descendants may also carry these traits, and so our group looks into the descendants of King Elessar and Queen Arwen in the hope that we would have the honour of meeting and supporting the descendants and helping them achieve maximum potential. The kingdom of Gondor decayed with time, and no one knows for sure where it once was, but we know it existed. It is my organisation's wish that you accompany me to France, where we have an estate that has been left for you by some old friend's of your ancestor, a long time ago. It was said that the heir, or in your case heiress, who has the most of the traits of Elessar, may take possession of the home."

"Even if what you say is true, I don't think you have the right person. Surely one of the other heirs must be more courageous and the things you say my ancestor was. I am nothing special. There is nothing out of the ordinary about me or my life." she said. At least it wasn't a complete lie. There was nothing out of the ordinary about her life, just that of her friend, Claire.

"I believe you may be mistaken. At least come and give it a try. You may be a lot more alike your ancestor than you realise."

"Maybe. I'll have to think about it. I mean, no offence to you, I am sure you are fine and everything, but it is a bit unusual for a young woman like me to just get up and go halfway across the world with a man that just showed up at my door. I might come, it does it rather interesting I suppose, but I couldn't go alone. Would I possible be able to bring a friend?"

Haldir stopped. He had been so sure that she would accept, but if she would only come if she was allowed to bring a friend then that might be a problem. How were they supposed to reveal the world of elves to this young woman if she had a friend with her? "I suppose you mean to bring this friend Claire?"

"Well she is my best friend after all. And I trust her to back me up and look after me. I might be the shy one, but she is the one who will not hesitate to do what needs to be done."

"Well, I would very much like to say that you can, but I am afraid that all depends. You see, the location of this estate is supposed to remain a secret, and not be revealed to those who may wish to take it for themselves."

"Claire would never -"

"I am not saying that your friend would do anything wrong, but please understand that we have rules and we must stick to them in order to preserve the estate and keep it from harm. There are many very important historical artefacts that would get a high price if they were sold, and we would not want them to come to harm. I would have to meet your friend and have a look into her background, just as a rule that we have in the organisation. I aplogise if this is an inconvenience, but it is just the way we do things."

"All right. Well, I have many questions, and I mean no offence to you but I will have to think about it more as I am not all that convinced about this whole thing, but I suppose it is possible. Maybe you could come by and meet Claire sometime? I am sure you will find her very trustworthy, and probably more courageous and honourable than I could ever be." If she were to be truthful, Claire would have to admit that she was more than a little intimidated by Haldir and the information she had just been given, and she would appreciate the support and presence of her good friend, who would do anything to protect her.

"I doubt it. You do not seem very afraid of me, and I am a complete stranger."

"I don't know. You seem pretty trustworthy to me. I don't really know how to describe it, you just seem like the kind of person I could trust." It was true, that since she had met him she had found him kind, open and with a certain air of authority about him that made it seem as though you could trust him with whatever you needed to and he would help you.

"Well Miss Berg, I thank you for your time, but I really must be going now. Here is my card so that you can contact me should you have any questions and such, and perhaps we could arrange to have a little get together with your friend Claire sometime."

"All right then. Claire is actually out of town at the moment, but she said that she should be back by Tuesday, so maybe sometime after that. Here, let me show you to the door."

Gretchen led Haldir through the house and back to the front door.

"Well, good bye Miss Berg, it was nice speaking with you. Remember to contact me should you ever wish to talk about any of this."

Gretchen smiled. "I will. Good bye!"

Haldir smiled at her before hopping into the car he had rented after arriving in the area not 6 hours ago. He had not told her many things, including the fact that he was a resident of France himself and had come all the way to talk to her, as he did not want her to worry or rush her decision. It was a decision to be made calmly, with lots of thought and care taken.

As to whether or not she would come with him to France, he would have to wait and see what her attitude toward the whole thing was if they met again, and he had a feeling they would.

**So guys, thanks for reading and please leave a review. :) I can't improve my writing at all if I don't get some feed back. Thanks guys! YOU ROCK!**


	3. Help Me Peter!

**So here is the third chapter. Just to clear things up, Claire left early during the Friday and pinned the note on the fridge then and it was late afternoon when Gretchen got home and Haldir came over and talked to her. It is now the Saturday morning, and even though Claire used the cell phone in the first chapter, she has not thought to call anyone as she is fighting panic attacks. **

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except the plot. All characters belong to either Tolkien or Kring. Thank you.**

When Gretchen woke up on Saturday morning, she had a funny feeling in her gut. Like something important was going to happen. Something significant. She moaned, shoving her pillow back over her face, desperately wanting to go back to sleep, but knowing that once she had woken up she would not go back to sleep easily.

She then turned and rolled out of bed with a sigh. She then walked through the house and into the kitchen to make herself some breakfast.

Gretchen put the bread in the toaster, got out the peanut butter, plate and a knife and then poured herself some orange juice. She looked around the kitchen to see if anything needed cleaning, and her eyes came to rest on a pile of papers in the corner.

She walked over to them with the intention of sorting out the important from the not so important and tidying things up a bit, but stopped short when she noticed the card on the top of the pile. She picked it up and studied it. It had a green leaf on it, and the name "The Greenleaf Group" under the the logo. This was the card that Haldir had given her the evening before. It had a phone number for the business on it, as well as a fax number, but no address. She turned the card over and saw the neat handwriting on the back.

_Haldir's mobile number:_

_0423 980 439_

_Call me if you want to talk about anything._

A small smile crept onto Gretchen's face. She still wasn't sure if she believed all this stuff about her being an heiress and all that, but it was pretty exciting.

She pursed her lips and thought about whether or not she should call. He did seem very nice and trustworthy, and she really did want him to be right about her. Even if the estate didn't turn out to be hers, going with him to France would be an adventure. But there was one thing Gretchen knew for sure. If she was going on this big adventure, she wasn't going alone. Claire would go with her or she wouldn't go at all.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted as her toast popped up from the toaster. Taking a deep breath she walked over to the bench, made her breakfast and set it on the table. She then reached over and grabbed the card off the pile again and examined it as she ate. _To call or not to call? That is the question, _she thought to herself as she flipped her card through her fingers.

Gretchen looked over at the microwave and saw the time. 07:53am. Taking a deep breath, she decided to call when she was finished eating. Haldir should be up by now, right? He didn't seem like that kind of guy that was lazy at all. In fact, she had gotten quite the opposite impression when they had spoken the day before.

Slowly standing up from the table, Gretchen walked over and picked up her mobile for where it sat on the bench. With the card in one hand and her phone in the other, she walked into the lounge room and sat on the couch.

A wave of nervousness swept through her as she began to dial the phone, and she didn't even know why. It was just a guy, and she didn't even know him. Maybe it was the fact that she didn't know if he was telling the truth or not. Yeah. That was it. At least that's what she told herself.

She dialled his number and waited for him to pick up, half of her hoping that he would answer and the other half hoping that he wouldn't. She waited. And waited. And waited. And wai-

"Hello? This is Haldir." The voice came through the phone.

"Um, H-haldir? Hi. It's, um, this is Gretchen Berg."

"Oh Miss Berg! How wonderful to hear from you. How are you feeling?"

"Uh, good, I am...good." Gretchen answered, surprised that he would show any interest in her well being.

"You don't sound too sure."

"Oh, well, I am. Very good, actually. Never better. Um, how about you?"

"Me? Oh, well, I am fine thank you for asking. Was there anything you wanted to talk about?" Haldir asked.

"Oh, um, yeah. I just wanted to tell you that I am not totally convinced, even though you were really nice about it and everything and you seem very trustworthy, but I would like to look more into coming with you. It sounds like fun, even if the estate doesn't end up having anything to do with me." Gretchen replied.

"Well that sounds really good. Maybe we could meet up sometime? I am staying at a hotel by the beach and a friend and colleague of mine is coming later on today to join me there for a while. Maybe you could meet him too? He also knows about your ancestry and may even know some things that I don't."

"Oh, well, you see, I would definitely like to see you and your friend and talk about it, but I can't go with you to France unless Claire comes with me. I guess I just feel safer with her around."

"That is completely understandable. Maybe tomorrow night we could meet up somewhere?"

"Um, yeah sure. There are some restaurants that we could go to or something like that."

"Ah yes. I believe there are some near where I am staying. I could have a look into them and see if any of them would be suitable and then contact you with the details?"

"Ah, yeah. That sounds fine. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"I'll see you then. Was there anything else you wanted to ask?"

"Oh, no, I don't think so," Gretchen said thoughtfully, and then she realised something. Claire's past, with all the different aliases she had had over the years might be a problem if Haldir looked into her history. Her name at the moment was Claire Walter, but it had only been that for 18 months. "Oh, wait. Would you have to run a background check on Claire if she was going to come?"

"Naturally. I do not wish to doubt your friend as I am sure she is very trustworthy, but it is just normal for us to do this you see." Haldir replied.

"Oh, ok then. Well that's all. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"I'll contact you with the details sometime before lunchtime tomorrow. What was your phone number again?" Gretchen told him and heard the rustle of paper in the background as he got a piece of paper to write it down on. "All right. What time would be best for you?"

"Oh, any time. Any time would be great."

"All right. I have to go now Miss Berg, but I look forward to seeing you tomorrow."

"Goodbye." Gretchen heard the beeping of her phone telling her that he had hung up, and she couldn't help but allow a nervous smile to appear on her face as she realised that she would be seeing him again. The smile got bigger and bigger, and her jaw was beginning to hurt but she couldn't help it as she fought the sudden urge to squeal with excitement like a little girl.

She was once more shocked out of her thoughts as her mobile rang in her hand. Picking it up, she answered it. "Hello?"

"Gretchen, hey. It's me, Claire..."

**ONE HOUR EARLIER**

Claire struggled to control the emotions welling up inside of her. Tears continued to streak down her face, no matter how hard she tried to stop them. Her whole body continued to shudder and shake, and sweat trickled down her forehead.

She had to find a way out of this. She was completely and utterly trapped in this box, or coffin, or whatever it was.

_Think, Claire. Think! There has to be a way out of this. _And then it hit her. The cell phone she held in her trembling hand. She cursed herself for being so stupid and flipped open the device. As light flooded through the room, she once more saw the corpse beside her, and another wave of panic and disgust went through her, so she forced her self to look at the screen of her phone. At first it was very bright to her due to the darkness she's been in for the past few hours (or days, she had really just lost track of time), but her eyes eventually adjusted.

Scrolling through the list of contacts, she finally found the 'P' section. Wincing as she saw the name 'Nathan Petrelli', she felt the usual wave of sadness she always did when reminded of her deceased biological father who had been murdered by the serial killer Sylar three years ago. She had never really deleted him as a contact, as somehow it still comforted her to have his name in her phone, as though she could just ring up and talk to him.

She pressed the down arrow once more and found the name she was looking for. Claire selected it and prayed that her uncle would hear his phone and answer quickly.

"Hello?"

Relief flooded through the young woman as she heard the voice of her uncle and saviour, Peter Petrelli. "P-peter! It's me, Claire."

"Claire? Where have you been! Is everything all right? We have been looking for you everywhere!"

"Oh Peter! Thank God you picked up the phone! I have no idea where I am. I just woke up in a box, I think it's a coffin. And there's this guy next to me, and h-he's..." Claire trailed off as another wave of panic hit her.

"Dead?" Peter guessed grimly.

Claire took a deep breath. "Y-yeah."

"I am at head quarters at the moment, so I'll get Micah to run a trace on this call and find out where you are so we can come get you out, okay? Just hang in there I'll be right back. Here's Matt to keep you company while I'm talking to Micah."

"O-okay. Please hurry Peter. I am really scared, and I hate being scared."

"You and me both kiddo. Here he is." Claire heard some background noise as the phone was passed to her friend Matt Parkman.

"Claire? Oh God we were so scared for a while there. Do you have any idea how scared we were? We thought we lost you. Claire? You there?"

"Yeah I'm here Matt. And I am so scared."

Matt could hear the tears in her voice. "Hey, it's okay. Sorry for going off at you for a bit there, we were just so worried. You know how much all of us old guys like to look out for you. You're the youngest."

"Matt, you're not that old, and I am not that young." Came the response, and Matt was relieved that she was engaging in normal conversation. He smiled.

"Claire, you're 24. That's young."

"Compared to you."

"Hey! What happened to 'Matt, you're not that old'?" the man retorted.

"Oh I do think you're old. I just said you weren't because I wanted to confuse you, since you ancient people are so easy to confuse." Claire teased, finally beginning to relax after the panic and anxiety over being stuck without anyone to talk to.

"And how do I know that – oh wait here comes Petey-boy." Matt said, with a mocking tone in his voice.

Claire laughed. "Don't call me that." She heard Peter say through the phone. "Ever."

"Sure thing Petey-boy." Matt replied with a grin that Claire could almost hear through his voice. "Okay Claire, see you when you get back. I'd say don't die, but you kinda can't."

Claire grinned. "Matt, that joke is so old. You've been saying it for years."

"Well it's an old joke for an old guy. But seriously, stay calm and be careful. All right?"

"I will Matt, I promise." Claire replied, feeling a warm fuzzy feeling when she realised that all these people, who were like family to her, were all looking out for her and making sure she would make it home as soon as possible.

"All right Claire. We have your location and Hiro is going to get a call so he can come here and take me to find you. You should be out of that box sometime in the next few hours." Peter's voice sounded calm and steady, just like always, and it filled Claire with relief.

"Thank you so much Peter. I have no idea how long I have been in here, but I have been awake for about 3 hours."

"What happened to you? We have tried to contact you all through the night and everything, but you just wouldn't answer your phone or anything. Molly Walker is off duty, so we couldn't get her to find you either." Peter question concernedly.

"I-i don't remember Peter, honestly. I have no idea why I am here or even who put me here." Claire replied, the worry that had been expelled by the light banter with Matt once more becoming evident in her voice.

"It's all right Claire. It doesn't matter how you got there, it just matters that we are going to get you out of there as soon as possible. We can talk about all the specifics when you get back here. For now, let's find something else to talk about."

"And exactly what would we talk about Peter?" Claire asked.

"Well, I guess the weather's out of the question since I am indoors and well, you are, you know, trapped."

"Thanks. You really know how to make a girl feel better." Claire remarked sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Peter hated it when she rolled her eyes. But then she remember that he couldn't see her. "I just rolled my eyes, but you can't see them, so I have to say so out loud."

"Claire, no one can see you rolling your eyes. You're trapped in a coffin."

"Shut up Peter."

"No you shut up."

"No you shut up."

"No you shut up."

"No you shut up."

"No you shut up."

"No you shut up."

"NO YOU SHUT UP!" Peter yelled, and then looked around the office he was in where all his colleagues were looking at him. He smiled and raised his hand. He watched them to make sure they all went back to their tasks before turning around and speaking to Claire once more. "You did that deliberately, didn't you?"

The former cheerleader laughed. "You are so fun to tease."

"Yeah yeah whatever. You're such a child."

"No you're such a child."

"No you're such a child."

"No you're such a child."

"No you're such a – hang on, you're doing it again, aren't you?" All Peter received in response was more laughter from his brother's daughter. Eventually she calmed down a little.

"Hey, Peter?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what? Making a fool out of myself for your personal entertainment? Yeah, what else is new."

He joked.

"Well, that too. Actually I was thanking you for always looking after me and making me laugh, even when I am really scared. I am really lucky to have an uncle like you, you know."

"Yeah, I am pretty amazing, huh?" Came the response.

Claire laughed. "Yeah. I mean, even now, I have just spent hours freaking out because I am trapped in a small, dark, unknown place with a man that has been murdered, and you and Matt just cheer me up straight away. I love you guys." She said admiringly.

Peter smiled fondly as he listened to his niece. "Well Claire, as much as I would love to spend all day talking about how amazing I am, we will have to continue this conversation at a later date as a certain Japanese time traveller just appeared in front of me."

Claire grinned. "Hiro! Oh I love that guy."

"Well that's kind of expected since he's about to come and save your life." Peter replied with a smirk. "Just a second."

Claire then heard muffled talking as Peter spoke to Hiro about how to save her. She couldn't hear the exact words, but she still felt that warm feeling of safety just knowing that everything was going to be all right as her 'heroes' were coming to save her yet again. She smiled to herself, thankful that she had such friends.

"Claire?" Peter's voice returned and startled her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah?" She replied.

"I have to go now but Hiro and I are coming to get you. Micah has found your location and Hiro is taking me there. You should be out sometime during the next hour. I'll see you when we get there, okay?"

"All right. Please hurry, it's getting really hot in here and I am running out of air."

"I promise it will be as quick as possible. Bye Claire." He hung up the phone and silence once more came to Claire's surroundings.

The silence was actually quite strange. For pretty much her whole life there was always some sort of background noise, and never complete and total silence. Usually there was the sound of cars going by, the sound of crickets somewhere in the distance or even the hum of a fridge. But now, there was nothing.

Claire took a deep breath. She already missed the sound of Peter or Matt talking to her. They were some of the rare people that could keep her calm no matter what. In the middle of a crisis when on one of her missions for Primatech, sometimes the only thing that kept her sane was the sound of the voice in her ear, whether it was Peter, Matt or sometimes even Micah.

Claire had been through a lot in her life, but that didn't mean that she was fearless. Sure, the whole immortality thing made it pretty hard to scare her, but death wasn't the only thing that scared people. In this case Claire was overwhelmed with the fear of darkness and silence. She hated being alone. That was why Gretchen had moved with her to the small, run down home they now shared.

And so now, all alone in a small box with nothing to keep her company but silence, darkness and a dead man, Claire began to cry. Tear trickled down across her face and she didn't bother to wipe them away. She was on the verge of a freak out, even though she knew that Peter and Hiro would be somewhere nearby by now.

_Okay Claire, you need to calm down. Peter and Hiro will get you out soon. _She told herself. Taking a deep breath, she decided it was time to think of something different. Something happy. Claire tried to think of something that made her feel happy and safe and wasn't related to the situation. Finally, she found someone.

Gretchen. Gretchen had been Claire's best friend for a few years now and she knew all about Claire's ability and her past, but not her present. Gretchen thought that Claire lived an ordinary life (well, as ordinary as one's life can get when they don't even feel pain of any sort) and only rarely contacted her old friends with other abilities. But that wasn't true, Claire just couldn't tell her about her job at Primatech. No one was even supposed to know it still existed other than the people who worked there. And unfortunately for Claire, this included Gretchen.

_It's probably best that she doesn't know anyway. _Claire thought to herself. If Gretchen knew she would probably freak out every time Claire was on a mission, just because she was that kind of person. Gretchen preferred it when everything and everyone was safe, happy and perfect, and while she would support Claire if Claire ever told her about Primatech, she would still worry about everything, and that would put stress on their friendship, the friendship that Claire needed so badly. If she were completely honest, she would have to admit that she was actually afraid of living alone. Of being alone. And this thought then brought her right back to the pity party she had avoided before, and tears began to well up in her eyes once more.

_Enough is enough Claire! _She reprimanded herself. _No more crying. It doesn't help. _

Claire then decided that she need to talk to someone again, to not feel alone. Turning her phone on again she scrolled through her contacts until she came to the 'B' section. Finding the name 'Gretchen Berg' she selected her friend and waited for her to pick up the phone.

"Hello?" Claire heard Gretchen's voice and she smiled at the sound of it.

"Gretchen, hey. It's me, Claire."

"Hey Claire! How are you? How are things going with your father?"

"Oh, well, you know, same old same old. How about you?"

"You will NEVER guess what has happened. Not in a million years!" Gretchen squealed excitedly, overjoyed to have someone to share her excitement with.

"Did a handsome prince show up at the door and ask you to marry him?" Claire asked amusedly, glad for the distraction.

"Yeah Claire. I hear there are a whole bunch of those handsome princes just walking around asking random girls to marry them these days." Gretchen replied sarcastically.

"Okay, okay. What is it?" Claire asked.

"Well, I got home from shopping and work and all that yesterday, and I was just here at home and everything as normal, and all of a sudden there was a knock on the door."

"And your handsome prince waltzed in." Claire interrupted cheekily.

"Shut up Claire. So I opened the door, and there was this guy. No, he was not a prince. But he was handsome, I'll admit it. All blonde hair and these blue eyes that almost glowed. Not to mention tall and all that. Anyway, he tells me that he wants to talk to me about my ancestry or something like that. So, by now, I had gotten over the initial shock of having a guy just showing up at my door, and I asked him what he wanted to talk about. He just had this thing about him that made him seem, I dunno, kinda trustworthy I guess. Really nice and caring too. But still pretty intimidating. Anyway, I let him in and he told me this whole story that takes too long to explain, but pretty much I might inherit an awesome estate in France. Might. But I get to go there and have a look if I want to! I am so excited about it. I don't know if it is true or not, but it might be worth a try."

"So, this random guy shows up at your door and tells you a story, and asks you to go to France with him because you just might be some heiress, and you agree to with him?" Claire questioned, sounding shocked. "Gretchen, do I have to list all the things that could go wrong?"

"I know Claire. I haven't told him definitely yes yet, I just told him I would think about it. I am probably going to see him and his friend tomorrow night for dinner at a restaurant to talk about it more. I thought about inviting them over here, but I decided that I don't really know them and it would be better to meet in a public place." Gretchen replied.

"Well, it still sounds kind of weird to me."

"Weirder then flying, reading minds, painting the future and being immortal?"

"Point taken."

"Sorry Claire I have to go. There's someone knocking on the door. I'll see you when you get back."

"Wait!"

"What?"

"I-i just wanted to thank you for always being there for me. You really are my best friend."

"Well you're welcome. You've been there for me too, but I guess my life isn't as troublesome if you get what a mean. Is everything all right? You sound sort of sad."

"Oh no I'm fine. I just wanted to thank you, that's all."

"All right. We can talk a bit more when you get back. Now I really have to go. Bye!"

"Bye." Gretchen hung up the phone and Claire was once more left alone in the coffin.

Now that she didn't have someone's voice in her ear, she could hear sounds that seemed to come from above where she was. She was getting hotter and hotter and there was sweat dripping off her forehead. Claire took a deep and shaky breath, and tears welled in her eyes. Her fear of being alone was overwhelming and showed up at the worst times. _Any minute now Peter is going to get you out of here. He and Hiro must have been digging for a while now. _There was a sudden rumble and some noises from above her.

The next thing Claire knew the small box she was in was filled with a blinding light and she was hit with cool air once again.

She heard Peter's voice calling her. "Claire? Are you okay? Claire!"

"P-peter? Oh Peter!" Claire stuttered out. She felt arms gently grabbing her and pulling her out of her temporary prison. Claire squinted and waited for her eyes to adjust to the light. Breathing heavily, she lay down on the ground and waited for a bit.

Claire then looked around to see where she was. She was laying on the green grass of a cemetery, and a very large one too. Peter and Hiro were standing near her, looking at her with concerned looks on their faces. Hiro was covered with dirt and sweat from trying to dig her out, while Peter was clean as he had just used one of his abilities to get the dirt out of the way.

Peter stepped towards her and crouched down next to her, his eyes soft and gentle as he looked at his niece. "Hey, are you all right?"

Claire took a deep breath and replied. "Y-yeah. I am now. Thank you so much."

"It was no problem cheer-leader." Hiro said, smiling at her from where he was standing.

Peter helped Claire up and she dusted her self off. It was then that Hiro gasped as he saw the back of her coat. "Claire? I think we should get you out of here and cleaned up."

"What?" Claire asked when she noticed the look on his face. She took off her coat and examined it, and was shocked to find that it had bullet holes in it, and some blood. Her blood. Someone had shot her and she had healed. But then why had she woken up? Maybe someone had shot her, shoved her in the coffin, shut the lid and them covered it with dirt. That explained why she had woken up, but not why she could barely remember anything that had happened since Friday night.

Peter took her coat from her hands and put his own on her shoulders to cover all the blood. He then burned her cloak in his hand and watched as it crumbled in ashes and fell apart, blowing away with the wind.

"Hey! That was my favourite coat." Claire complained.

"I somehow doubt you could have given it to someone to fix it with bullet holes in the back and covered in blood." Peter replied.

"Probably not." Claire said with a small smile.

"We should probably get out of here before someone comes and finds the grave like this." Hiro said, indicating the mess of dirt that surrounded the coffin, which was now open and showing the dead man for all to see.

"All right. Just give me a second." Peter said, and Hiro and Claire moved back a little as they realised what Peter was about to do. He quickly took a picture with his phone, and then using his telekinesis he moved the lid back on the coffin and pushed all the dirt back on top. "Okay, we're good."

Hiro put a hand on both Claire and Peter and finally teleported all three of them out of there, much to Claire's relief.


	4. Visitors and Going Home

**I apologise for the long wait, I have been very busy with end of the year school stuff and other stories. As you may have noticed, I have begun some other stories on my profile, so I hope you enjoy them as well as this one. :) One is a Heroes x Narnia fic where Claire goes to Narnia as the protector of the Pevensies and Caspian, and the other is an Inheritance Cycle fic that will be crossed over with Narnia for the sequel, but stands alone at the moment.**

**So here is the next chapter and I hope you enjoy. Please leave a review and let me know what you think! If you feel that it is going a little too fast, let me know. :) Thank you.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except the plot. Everything and everyone else belongs to either Tolkien or Kring. Thank you. **

Gretchen groaned. She had been standing in her room for hours and she still couldn't decide on what to wear to dinner with Haldir and his friend. She had managed to narrow her options down to three dresses.

One of them was a red, knee length dress that was simple and plain, since the colour, texture and cut was nice enough the way it was. The second option was a nice yellow dress that was bright and cheerful, and the last dress was similar to the red one but instead was a deep blue green. Oh, how she wished Claire was there to help her decide! She always knew what to pick.

Sighing, she thought to herself, _I'll just decide in the morning. I am way too tired to decide now even though I have just wasted 3 hours of my life going through my wardrobe. _

She looked over at the clock on her wall. 8:32. It wasn't even that late and she was already exhausted. She had gone on an extra long jog though, and she was now very sore because of it.

Gretchen grabbed the three dresses on her bed, put them back on their coat hangers and placed them back in the cupboard where they would stay until the morning. She then walked to the kitchen to get herself a cup of tea to help calm her down as she was very nervous about her upcoming dinner with Haldir and his friend.

The whole situation was really odd actually. Gretchen had been through every conceivable excuse as to why all of a sudden someone would decide to just walk up to her door and announce that she is the descendant of some royalty or something like that. Part of her was saying that it was all some childish prank and that she should just ignore it, while another part of her desperately wanted it to be true.

_I wish Claire was here. She would know how to calm me down, or at least looking at her would remind me that a dinner with a guy is nothing compared to what she has done. _Gretchen had a great deal of respect for her friend. Claire was so strong and courageous, and Gretchen wondered if maybe Haldir had gotten them mixed up. Being the descendant of royalty would almost fit with Claire's past. Maybe the royalty had special abilities or something? But then again, abilities had only been discovered in the past 100 years as far as she was aware, so that wasn't likely.

With a sigh she decided to turn in and at least try to sleep. Over thinking everything wasn't going to help anything. Tipping out the remaining contents of her mug, she set it out to be washed up in the morning and walked to her room where she prepared for bed and went to sleep. Well, tried to anyway.

* * *

><p>The next morning when Gretchen woke up, she had a massive head ache. <em>Oh crap! <em>She went into the kitchen and grabbed the painkillers. Tipping two into her hand she downed them with a glass of water and sat down on the chair at the table. She looked up at the clock on the wall to see the time. 10:34. She had slept in longer than she had intended.

After a while her head ache began to fade and she walked back to her room and got changed out of her pyjamas and into a pair of old jeans and a green t-shirt. She then got herself some breakfast and settled down on the couch to eat it. She turned on the television and found an old episode of _The Cosby Show_.

When she was part way through it her phone rang and she got up to answer it.

"Hello this is Gretchen."

"Gretchen! It's me, Haldir."

"Oh, hi Haldir!"

"I hope I am not interrupting anything?"

"Nope everything is alright here."

"Good. I am afraid I have some bad news."

"What's wrong?"

"Well, I called the restaurants and they are all booked for tonight. It's a public holiday after all."

"Oh well that's no good." Gretchen said, disappointed.

"Yes I agree. Maybe we could meet another time? There is an opening at one of them for two nights time."

Gretchen frowned. "Well, that would be nice, but if you want you and your friend...what did you say his name was?"

"Legolas."

Gretchen smiled. They had such strange names. "Well if you want you and your friend Legolas can come over for dinner here."

"Are you sure? I mean, it would be lovely but we would not want to put you to any trouble."

"Oh no it's fine. We can order some Chinese or something. It won't be as good as food from the restaurants, but I suppose it is still edible."

"Well if that is the case and you are sure that you do not mind, we will be there. What time would you like us to come?"

"Ahhh, any time after 6:30 will be good."

"Alright well you can expect us to be there at 6:30. Don't go out of your way for us Gretchen."

"I won't."

"Well thank you for your wonderful offer and I look forward to seeing you tonight. I have to go pick Legolas up form the airport now. I shall see you tonight."

"Bye Haldir."

"Good bye Gretchen." The unmistakable beeping from an ended call filled her ear and she put down the phone. Now all she had to do was pick out which dress to wear.

* * *

><p>Claire woke up with a start when she heard a bang from the other side of the room she was in. After a moment of confusion she realised that she was supposed to be working, and so she turned back to computer screen and examined it once more.<p>

It was Sunday afternoon and she was sitting at a desk in Texas. She had flown back in that morning and once they discovered exactly what had happened on her last mission, which she had been told was in France, she was able to go home and relax for a few days before getting back to work. Here she was just a few hours flight away from home, and hoping that she would be able to actually be home in a few days.

She had typed up everything she remembered since she got the phone call, and then had typed everything she had been told, and was researching possible ways to make her forget the things she couldn't recall. It was highly unlikely that it had anything to do with trauma. If her brain was going to forget traumatic experiences then she would be missing most of her life. She was strong and all the events over the years had strengthened her to a point where she recovered quickly from things not just physically but mentally and emotionally as well. She doubted that just because an experience was bad it would just make her forget everything.

After getting her out of the coffin Peter and Hiro had taken her back to the office in Texas where they had been ever since. Just thinking, talking and wondering. And still they had come up with nothing. Claire rubbed her face and tried to focus on the screen in front of her.

"Claire, are you alright?" Matt's concerned voice came from behind her and she turned to see him standing there watching her.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just a little tired." Claire replied half heartedly.

"Well, that's understandable. You were locked in a coffin for God knows how long."

"Yeah I know."

"Come on, let's get you some coffee." Matt grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the chair. Despite her protests he got her into the small kitchen they had there at the office. He sat her down at the small table and began to make two cups of coffee. "Well Claire, I think you should go home."

"Why? I can do more good here."

"No Claire, seriously, you need some rest at your home in your own environment doing normal things, not thinking about whether someone's out to get you or not. We will take care of things here. You know Peter will let you go if you ask him to."

"Matt I can't. I just can't go home like this. I am tired and worried, but going home will just make it worse. I have to keep doing things or it gets worse."

"I understand, but you have to stop some time."

"I know, and I love that all you guys look out for me, but I am stronger than you think."

"I know Claire. Believe me, I know." Matt looked sad for a moment. "It's just that...Claire, you're young. You should be out partying and having fun with friends, not sitting in an office trying to work out who tried to kill you. Your father has tried so hard to let you have a normal life, and yet here you are choosing to live a double life full of deception and secrets that could ruin you for good. You might be invincible physically, but Claire, no matter what happens you are still a young woman on the inside, and I want the best for you. You're like the sister I've never had."

"I am really touched by your words Matt, honestly. I just...sometimes I don't want to have to face Gretchen. I mean, she has such a normal life and I have to pretend that I do too, and she is my best friend and I hate lying to her."

"Then don't." Matt said simply, placing the steaming cups of coffee on the table and sitting down with her.

"Matt, you know why I have to. If she finds out about Primatech..." Claire trailed off, biting her lip.

"What are you so worried about Claire? I think Gretchen is stronger than you give her credit for. She would understand if you told her the truth."

"It's just that she loves adventure, but to be honest she believes people too easily. If she becomes involved with Primatech at all then it would be dangerous for her and other people. I mean, she talked to me before and told me that I guy came to her door and told her she is the descendant of some royalty or something and now she is going to dinner with him and a friend of his. That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard, and the worst part of it is that it is true!"

"Come on Claire, I doubt that she is going to want to join Primatech if you tell her about it. She is more likely to be excited and demand details from you, and if that is a problem then you can tell her and she won't. You became best friends with her for a reason, and don't forget it. She helps you through things when you need it, just like we do. She just does it in a different way."

"I know, I just don't want her to ever be worried about me. I guess I want a normal life for her as well."

Matt sighed. "When is she going to dinner?"

"Tomorrow night."

"Then I have a suggestion. Go with her."

"Well Matt I would but I am currently on the other side of the country. That's kind of a problem."

"Yeah, a problem with a simple answer. We do have a master of time and space for a reason."

"I couldn't ask Hiro to do that for me."

Hiro chose this moment to enter the kitchen. "Did I hear my name?"

Claire opened her mouth to speak but Matt beat her to it. "Yeah, Claire here was wondering if you would take her back home so she doesn't have to get a plane back. She needs to be somewhere for tonight."

"I wouldn't mind at all. It's very easy Claire. When would you like to leave?" Hiro said happily.

"Oh no Hiro I couldn't ask you to do that. I will just catch a plane or something. It'll be alright."

"You'll never get there in time." Hiro reasoned.

"I don't even want to go. There's too much to do here." Claire responded, trying to make them understand.

"Claire you don't sleep at night, you barely eat. You need a vacation. When you're home, you work. When you're in the field, you work. When you're here, you work. You need a break." Matt told her sternly.

"No. I can't. Please guys, understand. I have to keep going. If I stop to think then I just..."

Matt nodded. "I know Claire, but you have to learn to relax. You're no good all stressed and freaked out."

Claire sighed. "Yeah I know. I guess I'll go back for a bit."

Matt grinned triumphantly. "I knew you'd come 'round!"

"Just for a day."

"A week."

"No!"

"Come on Claire!"

"Fine, I will go for four days max."

"Five."

"Matt!" Claire said, whacking him on the arm as Hiro laughed at their bickering. Claire saw the look on Matt's face and finally agreed. "Fine, I will go for five. But then I will come back and I will work non stop and I won't sleep or eat or look after myself and you won't complain."

"Okay I won't. I'll just have to report everything you do to Peter." Matt said with a cheeky grin.

"You devil!" Claire half yelled, chuckling. She pretended to be annoyed, but deep down she was grateful. She was strong, and told people that they didn't need to look after her, but she really did and she knew it. She loved how her uncle and her friends watched her back, and even though they often pestered her about looking after herself she knew they meant well.

"Well Claire when do you want to leave?" Hiro asked her, "Any time is good for me."

"Well I have to finish up some stuff around her, say good bye to some people and then get my things from my room. Are you good for in 2 and a half hours?"

"That will be good. I'll meet you at your apartment then?"

"Yeah that should be good. Thanks so much Hiro. Now I have to go ask Peter."

"He'll be fine with it." Matt assured as he stood. "I'll see you when you get back kiddo. Don't die," he joked and Claire smiled.

"Bye Matt." Claire leaned forward and gave him a hug before going to see her uncle in his office.

She walked through the halls and to Peter's office. Knocking on the door she opened it before waiting to hear a reply.

Her uncle stood by the window with a phone in his hand. "Yes, I am aware of the situation, but-" he stopped as though he had been interrupted by the person on the other end of the phone. He turned at the sound of the door opening and when he saw Claire a brief smile crossed his face before his expression returned to an annoyed one. Claire bit her lip to prevent the smile that wished to show itself on her features.

"Look sorry Mom but I am going to have to call you back. Claire wants to talk to me, and considering she spent Friday night and a good deal of yesterday locked in a coffin with a dead man I think she deserves my undivided attention." Peter listen to the reply and sighed heavily before turning to Claire. "Your grandmother wants to speak with you."

Claire laughed at his facial expression and took the phone. "Grandma?"

"Hello dear. I know you have some pressing matter to speak with Peter about but I just wanted to check in and see if you are alright."

"I'm fine."

"Now young lady, I know they trained you to be strong and cope and all that, but I am not one of them. Not any more anyway. I want the truth, not some firmly spoken lie."

Claire sighed yet again. "I am tired."

"You sound it, and no doubt you look it."

"So I have been told."

"Did you sleep at all last night?"

"Would you come here and clobber me if I said no?"

"Most certainly."

"Then yes, grandma, I slept perfectly well."

"Now now, none of that smart mouth of yours. You get it from me you know."

"Yes I know."

"Well, I have to go, but you are going to look after yourself, you understand?"

"Yes Grandma."

"Alright. I'll see you when I see you and probably speak with you before then."

"Good bye Grandma."

"Good bye dear." Claire smiled as she heard the fond tone in her grandmother's voice. She then heard the click from the other end as the phone hung up, and she handed it to Peter.

"Can I help you with anything Claire?" her uncle asked.

"Ummm, yeah. I was just talking to Matt and Hiro and they convinced me to go home for a few days, if I can get your permission. But if I can't then that's completely okay because I think that I am fine but they don't and-"

"Claire, you can go."

"What?"

"I said, you can go."

"Oh come on Peter."

"Okay, Claire, forgive me for being slightly confused with the current situation. You came in here to ask permission for something, and now that I have said yes, you are begging me to say no. Is that correct or am I losing my mind?"

Claire sighed and sat on the chair in front of his desk. "Well, yeah. I guess it is. It's just that I want to keep working, but Matt won't stop annoying me and saying that I need to go home and rest and stuff, but I swear I feel fine. Just a little tired. And then Hiro came up and we started talking and I don't know why but somehow I agreed to go if you said that I could."

"How long will you be gone for?"

"Five days. I wanted less, but Matt knows how to argue."

Peter smirked at this. "Yeah he does. And I happen to agree with him completely." Claire opened her mouth to say something, but Peter held up his hand to stop her. "No, Claire, this is final. You work too hard. You were buried alive for God's sake! You need a break, and that is why you have to go home, just for a little while. Please."

"Fine, I will go. But I will be back in five days time and I swear I will be such a pain in your rear you will regret making me go." Claire resolved.

"Sure you will Claire." Peter's eyes sparkled as though he were trying hard not to laugh. "Well, you best head off kiddo. Go get your stuff together and all that. I'll see you when you get back." He stepped forward and enveloped his niece in a hug and she returned it gladly.

"Bye Pete. Don't you go and spend too much time working either. Nobody likes a hypocrite." Claire grinned as she said the last bit before leaving the room to go and pack her things.

* * *

><p>Gretchen's arm felt as though it were on fire as she scrubbed the table as hard as she could with the piece of cloth. The table had been bought cheaply at a second hand shop and had many different kinds of stains on it, from circles where a piece of beetroot has been dropped onto it to a patch of light yellow where someone spilt orange juice. No matter how hard Gretchen tried she couldn't get rid of the stains, and her arm was beginning to beg her to stop.<p>

Giving in to the wishes of her arm (she was not too strong willed) she grunted and went to find a table cloth to put on the table to cover up the stains. She walked down to the small, dark basement and turned on the light. She had dumped a lot of junk down here from upstairs so the house would look neater, and now it was difficult to move around and find things. She had to dig for half an hour to find a suitable table cloth, and even then she had to wash and bleach it first.

As the table cloth was in the washing machine she walked quickly back through the house and looked for more things to do. There wasn't much she could do to make it look very good, but she could make it as good as possible. She moved on to the bathroom and cleaned everything in there as well before she came out and got herself a small snack from the kitchen to keep her going until dinner. She pulled out the crackers and dip and ate a few as she thought about the best way to tackle the rest of the house.

Gretchen looked over to the clock for the time and found that it was already 5:15. Groaning, she put away the food and renewed her efforts to clean the house.

* * *

><p>An hour later, Haldir and Legolas were sitting in the car as they drove from the hotel they were staying at to Gretchen's house, and they were discussing the current situation.<p>

"Well, she seems a little shy, but she warms up. She is very modest, maybe too modest. She seemed very doubtful that she is the heir to Aragorn and Arwen." Haldir said as he drove.

"Well that is kind of expected with a background like hers. She is just a normal human."

"Come now mellon, we both know that is not true at all. A descendant of Aragorn and Arwen is no mere mortal, but one to be treasured and honoured."

"I agree that the children of Estel and Arwen are not normal humans, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that she is as amazing as you say. I personally have not met her, but from what you have told me about her reactions to things she sounds like a very normal, frightened person."

"Well I did just show up on her doorstep and start telling her about it, so I believe that her reaction was called for and fitted the situation. She seems like a reasonable person, but of course we will not know unless she comes to France for the tests and such. Which brings me to another important point. When I spoke with her about France, she said that she might come, but also might not, but she said that if she does come then she will only come if her friend is permitted to come with her."

Legolas snorted. "Probably just to show off her possible new found wealth."

"That is where I believe you are wrong mellon nin. She acted as though she would not be comfortable under any circumstances unless her friend, Claire I believe, came with her. She lives with Claire by the way."

"So this Claire will be there tonight?"

"No, I don't think so. When I first visited and I asked where her friend was, she said that she was out and would be back soon, which I believe was a lie but a smart one considering she didn't know who I was and if I thought that Claire was coming back any minute I wouldn't hurt her. But then later in our conversation she told me that Claire was out of town and would be back on Tuesday, so I think that was the truth. She hasn't mentioned anything about Claire being present for tonight so I assume that it will just be her."

Legolas nodded. "Well if this Claire must come then we have to run a background check and such to ensure that she is trustworthy and the secret is kept safe, especially since Gretchen is likely to tell her everything."

"I agree, and I explained that to Gretchen and she understood completely. But I must say that she looked a little nervous when I said that we could have to run a background check on her friend. I think there is something going on that we don't know about, and we will have to look into it."

"Agreed."

* * *

><p>Gretchen was sitting in the front room, wondering how in the world she had managed to clean the whole house in the time she had had. In the end she had picked out the deep blue green dress, mainly because it was a better colour than the others and she had been told that it complemented her hair. It was also not silk, which meant that it didn't seem quite as formal as the others she had been choosing from.<p>

Haldir and Legolas were due to arrive at any moment, and she was incredibly nervous. She knew that it was probably a stupid thing to invite them over, but she didn't care. She trusted Haldir, and she didn't even know why. But she was still nervous about them coming to see her.

Gretchen was startled out of her thoughts by a knock on the door, and she immediately fought for control. She stood calmly and walked to the front of the house and opened the door to reveal the two men.

Legolas looked similar to Haldir as he had blonde hair, but his eyes were a bright, piercing blue. He was about the same height and build, and the two were both dressed fairly casually in jeans and a nice shirt each.

"Umm, hi! Come on in!" Gretchen smiled at them and waved them through the door, shutting it behind them.

"Hello Gretchen. How are you?" Haldir asked.

"I am good thank you." Gretchen replied. "How are you?"

"I am fine. Great actually. Gretchen, please meet my good friend Legolas."

Legolas was surprised when Gretchen spoke first. "Hello Legolas. It's nice to meet you."

"It is nice to meet you also, Miss Berg."

Gretchen gave a small smile and her cheeks went a light pink. "Please, no one, and I mean no one, calls me that. Just Gretchen will be fine."

Legolas nodded, warming up to the young human woman. He understood now what Haldir had been talking about. She reminded the two men of Arwen. She didn't look too much like their old friends, but she had Arwen's attitude, and Legolas was sure that if he spent more time with her he would find some of Estel's qualities in her also.

"So, come on through to the lounge room." Gretchen said as she led them through the house and gave them a very quick tour of the place as she went. "I am sorry it isn't much. My friend and I don't get paid very much, so we can't exactly afford a mansion or a castle in some foreign fancy place, so we make do with this here. It's not much, but we still love it just the same."

Haldir nodded. "It is a nice home."

Gretchen smiled half heartedly as she knew that he was just being polite. "Claire isn't here at the moment, but she will be back on Tuesday if you want to meet her and ask her about anything. I don't know if she will want to come or not, and she might have something to do that means that she can't, and as I told you before I won't be going anywhere without her. I still haven't decided if I really want to go or not, even though it does sound like a lot of fun."

"We understand if you are not comfortable in coming with us, and if you say no now then you can always call us and ask at a later point in time. You have Haldir's number, do you not?" Legolas asked.

"Oh yeah I do. He wrote it down for me and I put it into my phone this morning. Thank you for not putting the pressure on me, this situation is a little weird."

"I believe I would use the term extraordinary." Haldir said, grinning at her.

"Us what you will to describe it. Whatever name you give it does not change the situation, only one's view of it." Gretchen smiled. "My English teacher would be so proud." She said, laughing.

And so, the three of them settled down at the table and began to have a look at the menus and decide what they wished to eat, and Gretchen felt more and more comfortable with the minute.

* * *

><p>Claire shoved more of her clothes back in the suitcase and looked around the room she was in. She could no longer see anything of hers in there, so she walked through the rest of the small hotel room searching for anything she might have left behind. After finding nothing, she zipped up her suit case and moved to the front, waiting for Hiro to come.<p>

She wasn't sure if she would be too late to go with Gretchen to dinner by the time she got there, but she would try. She wanted her early arrival to be a surprise, so she didn't ring ahead.

_Knock knock knock. _Claire got up and answered the door. "Hey Hiro! Come on in."

The Japanese time traveller walked into the small hotel room and looked around. "Do you have everything?"

"Yeah I just did a check through to make sure. I left my key on the front desk and told the receptionist that I would be leaving this afternoon. She said to leave the room unlocked for the cleaners, so we will."

"Alright." Hiro said as he stepped forward and placed a hand on Claire's shoulder. She picked up her bags and waited. As usual she had to try hard not to laugh at the expression on Hiro's face as he began to teleport them.

The next thing she knew she was on a deserted corner at the end of her street. She looked around to make sure no one saw them appear, and was satisfied when she found no one. Turning to Hiro, she said, "Thank you so much. I will see you when I get back." She quickly hugged him.

"No problem. Bye Claire." He nodded and disappeared.

Claire sighed, checked for people once more and walked up the street. Her house was pretty far up the street, but she and Hiro had arranged for it to be like that so it looked like she walked from the bus station.

Claire silently cursed herself for wearing high heels that would only get in the way, and extended the handle on her suitcase and she walked along the path. It took her a while, but she eventually got there.

Claire frowned as she looked into the driveway. There were two cars. One was Gretchen's, and the other was an expensive looking silver one.

She walked quickly up the drive way and stopped at the steps as she pushed down the long handle on her bag and pick it up by the short one, lugging it behind her as she walked up the stairs.

She walked up to the front door and pulled her key from her pocket, unlocking the door and stepping inside.

* * *

><p>Gretchen had ordered the Chinese over the phone and now they were sitting in the lounge room with coffee talking about a whole range of things. She found Haldir and Legolas to be nice people and it was easy to keep up a conversation with them, even though their speech often seemed a little posh and proper.<p>

And so, they were deep in conversation when Gretchen heard the door open and she stood and went to investigate. Haldir and Legolas heard her exclamation. "Claire! I wasn't expecting you to be back until Tuesday. God! You look like you've been through hell!"

Claire ignored her last comment. "Don't tell me you threw a party in my absence or something."

"Claire, are you alright?" Gretchen asked, with concern on her face.

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired. I walked from the bus stop."

"God Claire you're such an idiot. You walked all the way up the street in heels when you could've just asked me to come and pick you up!"

"Well, that would have ruined the point of surprised, wouldn't it?"

Haldir and Legolas watched as the two women walked through the door and into the lounge room. Claire was not how they expected. She was shorter than Gretchen with golden blonde hair and tanned skin. Her eyes were hazel and she was dressed in a nice black dress with black heels, like she had come from working in an office. Her hair was pulled into a bun, but some bits were falling out. The bags under her eyes suggested days without rest, and her face was a little pale and hollow.

Claire stopped when she saw the two men in the lounge room.

"Umm, Claire, these are the people I told you about on the phone. This is Haldir and this is his friend Legolas. The restaurants were all booked for tonight, so they came over here. We ordered Chinese, but I ordered extra so there will be enough for you to join us."

Claire nodded, smiling half heartedly at the two men. "Hi. Yeah Gretchen I am just going to go settle in my room for a few minutes and change my shoes to something that doesn't try to murder my feet, but I'll be back out."

"Okay. By the way, you are going to tell me why you look like hell." Gretchen said firmly.

Claire shrugged. "I've just missed some sleep."

"Why on earth would you go to visit your father and come back like this?"

Claire glanced over to Haldir and Legolas, who were watching intently. "It's a long story."

"Yeah, well, I have a while."

Claire glared at her friend and but her tongue to stop herself from giving a nasty reply. "Look, Gretchen, you are my best friend and I love you to death, God, I would die for you if I had to, but I have had a crap weekend, okay? I am not in the mood to argue, really. I just need to relax, please. I am going to go change my shoes and wash my face."

With that, Claire walked out of the lounge room and into her own bedroom. She quickly opened her suit case and pulled out a pair of flat shoes that weren't as annoying as the heeled ones. She slipped them on and walked to the bathroom, where she splashed cold water on her face and scrubbed any make up off. She took a good, long look at herself.

She was tired, and it was obvious in her face. Her eyes were puffy and she had large, dark circles. Her face was pale and drawn. Claire moved her hand and reached out toward her reflection, mesmerised by the person standing there. Her reflection didn't even look like her. Her reflection was weak and exhausted, and their eyes looked pained. Tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision as she looked at herself. Her hands shook. She had to know who tried to kill her. She had to know who did this to her.

Claire groaned and slammed her hand into the wall. Tears streamed down her cheeks as all she could think was one thing. _My hand hurts. It really hurts! _

"Claire? Are you alright? Claire!" Gretchen's voice came through the door.

Claire was so scared that she might as well have been locked back into the coffin, buried alive with a dead man. Why had it hurt? Why? She suddenly found it difficult to breathe as pain exploded in her head and she leaned against the wall for support, sliding down it as she clutched her head and tried desperately to scream, but failed.

* * *

><p><em>A few minutes earlier...<em>

"I am sorry about her. She is a bit strange sometimes. She and her father don't exactly get along very well, so I am guessing that she is here because she walked out on him in anger. She is sad, I can tell from her face. Sometimes I wish I could whack her father so hard." Gretchen explained.

"Why don't they get along?" Legolas asked.

"She won't be too happy with me telling you this, but her father is a pretty big liar. He lied ot her, her brother and her mother and it ruined his marriage. He hardly sees his son, so Claire goes to him because she feels she has to, but she is the one that he has hurt the most."

The men nodded sadly. "Unfortunately these things happen." Haldir said, looking truly sad for Claire.

"But she deals with it well. It just hits her hard sometimes, you know? But she'll be alright." It was then that they heard a thump from the bathroom and Gretchen frowned, getting up. She walked over to the the door, and Haldir and Legolas could still partly see her as she stood at the door to the bathroom.

"Claire? Are you alright? Claire!" There was no response. "Claire Bennet you open this door this instant, do you hear me? CLAIRE!"

The two men stood, walking over. "Would you like us to break down the door or something?" Legolas asked, and while this would have been funny under other circumstances, all of them were dead serious.

Gretchen considered it for a moment. "No, she would freak out if we broke the door. I have another idea." She walked quickly to Claire's bedroom and came out with a silver cell phone in her hand. She flipped it open and looked through the list of contacts, trying to find someone. She found who she was looking for and immediately rang them.

"Claire? Is that you?" A male voice spoke.

"No Peter, it isn't Claire, this is Gretchen. Look, Peter, there is something wrong with her. She's locked herself in the bathroom and me and some friends are trying to get her out but she won't respond. I don't know what's going on."

Gretchen heard Peter take a deep breath. "Don't call the ambulance, whatever you do. Stay at the door and keep talking to her. I'll be there in a few minutes." With that, he hung up and went to find Hiro and get his ability.

Gretchen moved forward to the door. "Claire? Can you please say something for me?" There was silence. "Okay, listen to me then. I called Peter, and he's on his way. You hear that? He's coming to save you again. How does that sound? He's gonna look after you Claire, coz Lord knows I can't. Anyway, he said to keep talking to you, so I will. Okay, here goes. Hey, do you remember Annie? The one that had her whole life mapped out for her on that stupid chart on her wall in college? Yeah, well I know we have some unpleasant memories about that, but remember mucking around all the time when I moved into your room instead of her? That was fun. I will never forget that. And remember when we said that we were going to grow old together? And we both wanted to be one of those creepy old ladies that get their hair died a funky colour and then go around poking people with their walking stick. That was fun, wasn't it? And remember the time..." Gretchen went on and on about all their memories from the past few years, but what she didn't know was that Claire couldn't hear her.

A few minutes later, Peter showed up at the front door with Mohinder. Hoe he had managed to get there so fast with the Indian doctor, Gretchen would never know, but man was she grateful!

Haldir and Legolas moved back and watched curiously. They knew there was something going on that they didn't know about, and they were determined to find out what it was.

Peter walked up to the door and grabbed the handle firmly, twisting it until it creaked. "Claire, I need you to open this door for me, alright?" When there was no reply, he turned to Gretchen. "I am sorry about this, but I will pay for the repairs." And he slammed himself into the door and it fell down with a bang. He walked in and was shocked at what he saw.

Claire lay on the floor of the bathroom, limp and unmoving.

* * *

><p><strong>So there it is folks! I hope you enjoyed it! I will get to writing the next chapter immediately. <strong>

**Please leave a review and let me know if you have any thoughts, any at all! :)**


	5. Awakening, Intruders and Chinese Food

**I am SO sorry for the late update! Here is the next chapter. I am currently watching Lord of the Rings so I was inspired. :)**

**I also have to apologise that I will be away on holidays for the next 5 weeks, and even though I am bringing my laptop so I can keep writing, I won't be able to update as I won't have access to the internet. I am so sorry about this, but I am afraid there is nothing I can do about it. I will, however, try to work on all of my stories as I am away and upload them as soon as possible once I return, and I just might upload multiple chapters, you never know. :) But I might not, seeing as I will be spending time with the family doing stuff, not just sitting alone in a room with nothing bit a laptop. Yes, I have a a social life. Shocking, isn't it?**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, only the plot and any OCs I choose to bring in. **

_Peter walked up to the door and grabbed the handle firmly, twisting it until it creaked. "Claire, I need you to open this door for me, alright?" When there was no reply, he turned to Gretchen. "I am sorry about this, but I will pay for the repairs." And he slammed himself into the door and it fell down with a bang. He walked in and was shocked at what he saw._

_Claire lay on the floor of the bathroom, limp and unmoving._

"Claire!" Peter called as he rushed to her side and pressed his hand to the side of her neck to check for a pulse. As he touched her she began to wake up.

Her hazel eyes slowly opened and she began to focus on the image swimming before her. "Peter?" She asked and her uncle grinned with relief.

"What happened kiddo? You gave me a heart attack!" Peter exclaimed. The other people in the room were glad that she had woken up so easily, but were still worried for her.

"Well, I was in here thinking about how I could really scare you to get you and Matt and Hiro back for you know what, so..." She stopped talking as she saw the expression on Peter's face.

"Not the time for jokes," he said, frowning. He was serious, and it was obvious to him that Claire was hiding something.

"Fine. I was just tired and I fell asleep. As you know I haven't exactly slept much lately, so I felt that I needed to." It was a lie, and Claire knew it, but she was far too scared to admit the truth. How was she supposed to tell Peter, let alone all the others in the room?

"Are you sure you're alright Claire?" Mohinder asked, looking at her, obviously concerned. It didn't make sense to him, or anyone really.

"Yes I am sure! I think I would know when I am alright and when I'm not," she said obviously.

"Cut the crap Claire. What happened?" Gretchen was grumpy now, and she had a feeling that Claire wasn't 'just sleeping' as she had claimed.

"Exactly what I told you. I was tired and I fell asleep. It must have just been a deep one, and I am sorry."

"You can't just sleep that deeply Claire! We were banging on the door, screaming and then Pter had to break it down!" Gretchen yelled.

"You guys did all that for me? Awww, thanks." Gretchen opened her mouth to reply, but Claire cut her off before she could, hoping to avoid an argument in front of their current audience. "I am fine Gretchen. But it touches me that you guys cared enough to do that for me." Gretchen frowned, as though she was sensing that Claire was trying to manipulate her. "I don't have many people that would do that for me."

That one comment broke Gretchen, and her anger faded away, just as Claire knew it would. "Claire, you know we would do anything for you. Well, Haldir and Legolas here don't even know you, but if they did, I am sure they would feel the same way."

Claire smiled. "Thanks guys. Now Peter, is it okay if I get out of your lap now?"

Her uncle grinned. "Well, I think it's pretty funny to see you sprawled there like that, but I know you'll kill me if I stop you from getting up." He carefully moved, helping her up and they both stood awkwardly in front of the others, waiting for what would happen next.

Gretchen turned to the two male Primatech employees. "The Chinese food should be here soon and there might be enough for everyone."

Peter shook his head. "That's alright Gretchen. Now that she's okay Mohinder and I have to get back to work. We'll see you later kid." He smiled at Claire. As he pulled her in for a hug, he whispered into her ear. "Come Thursday you are going to tell me the truth, understood?"

"Yeah." Claire whispered back. They had been whispering soft enough for no one else to hear, or so they thought. The two elves, however, heard all of it with their sensitive ears and ability to pick up the smallest of sounds, and they were confused at what had been said but did not show it.

Peter and Mohinder bid them all goodnight and left, leaving Gretchen, Claire, Legolas and Haldir alone in the house once more. Gretchen turned to Claire. "You should get some rest."

Claire nodded. She didn't really feel like sleeping, but if she acted awake now then her story wouldn't be as believable. "I'll have a shower and settle down." She then turned to Haldir and Legolas. "It was nice meeting you."

"Nice meeting you too." Haldir said and Legolas nodded at the strange blonde woman.

Claire left them to discuss whatever it was they desired and got ready for bed, had a quick shower and went to sleep. Well, she tried to.

Sleep did not come easy for her as she kept wondering about what had happened over the previous days. She had been buried alive with a dead man and now she was feeling pain again. Were the two connected in any way?

Claire lay there for hours thinking about all the possibilities to do with everything. Gretchen's guests, her own unconsciousness and memory loss, the return of her pain, and much more. Things were crazy once more, and it scared Claire more than she was willing to admit.

The last time it had been like this, thousands of people were almost killed by Samuel Sullivan, and Claire was determined to not let anything like that happen again, no matter what the cost. If she had to leave Gretchen behind, she would do it, knowing that it was her duty to save the world, and she would rather die than fail.

_I suppose it's a good thing that I can't die then. _She thought to herself with a sad smile. It was ironic, that one of the few people in the world that would willingly give their life for others was the only one that couldn't be killed.

* * *

><p>"I am so sorry about all that, I really am. Now, I don't believe for one moment that Claire was asleep in there, but I will find out what is going on."<p>

"Gretchen, there is no need to apologize. You cannot control what happens, and from the way things look Claire cannot either. No one is to blame, or so I hope." Haldir told her.

"I agree with Haldir," Legolas began. "But do not push your friend too hard. I see pain in her eyes, and lots of it. She is hurting Gretchen, and I think that this trip might be a good idea after all. The particular part of country we would be in would be relaxing and helpful for her as well as for you."

Gretchen smiled. "You know, I didn't think about that. I guess we both need a break, her more than me, but I think we would both benefit from it. The only thing is that I don't think she will agree to come very easily. She works at a bank nearby, and it is demanding and takes up her time, so she might not be able to get time off to come."

"We can always hope." Haldir smiled at Gretchen and her heart jumped a little.

_Stop it! _She reprimanded herself. _You're acting like a fool! _

Her thoughts were interrupted as the doorbell rang. "That must be the Chinese food. I'll get it and bring it in."

She opened the door to reveal a teenager that looked barely old enough to drive, holding three bags that contained their food. His face was covered in pimples and his voice was so uneven Gretchen struggled not to laugh.

"I have food for Gretchen Berg?"

* * *

><p>The man approached the house, using the shadows to guide him as he silently ran up and climbed over the fence. Silently praying that it wouldn't creak, he hoisted himself over it with ease and landed softly on the other side.<p>

_Gee Claire, you could've made it harder to get in. At least some barbed wire would've been fun. _He thought with a smirk as he moved swiftly up to the window and peered inside, seeing a sleeping Claire.

He cautiously lifted the window and slipped inside.

Claire slept peacefully and dreamlessly, as she had been lacking sleep for far too long. The figure approached her, creeping up and reaching for her.

"Boo."

Her eyes shot open and she screamed, leaping out of bed and lunging for him. He quickly dove out of the way, but he didn't need to as Claire's legs got tangled in the bed sheets and she rolled off the bed and landed on the floor with a thump. She growled with frustration and tried to free her legs from their cotton prison.

But then she heard something she had not expected. Laughter. And not just any laughter, it was a laughter that was familiar. Very familiar.

The door burst open and Legolas rushed in, followed by a worried Gretchen and Haldir. Gretchen banged her hand against the light switch and the light turned on, revealing a scene they hadn't expected when they heard a scream and a bang.

Claire was on the floor, furious and tangled in her sheets, and a young man with dark brown hair was on his knees laughing on the other side of the room.

When Claire caught sight of his face in the light, she was angrier than Gretchen had ever seen her. Well, not quite, but she was still pretty angry.

"West Rosen! How dare you!" She screamed, her face deep red with fury.

The man just kept laughing. "You should've seen your face! It was the funnies thing I have EVER seen! I wish I got a picture of it!"

All anger was wiped off Claire's face and she smiled. "Really? What was it like?"

"It was horrified and so scared, like, seriously!" West was obviously overjoyed at having caught her unaware.

"Really? Horrified and scared? And you wish you got a picture of it?" Claire put her hand on her hips as she slowly stepped forward with her now untangled legs.

"Well, yeah!" West snorted.

Claire nodded calmly. "Then I think you should get your camera and give it to Gretchen."

"Why?"

"So she can take a picture of your face, 'cause it's about to look exactly like mine just did." West's eyes widened and his smile faded as he realised what she was about to do, and tried to back away, but it was too late.

Claire leapt at her ex-boyfriend now good friend and shoved him into the wall. He hit it with a thud and the air rushed out of his lungs, so he doubled over. She stepped back, grinning and the other three people in the room were shocked at what had happened.

Gretchen recovered first. "Hey West. Do you feel like Chinese food?"

* * *

><p><strong>So there is the next chapter. I am more than a little ahamed at how short it is as I usually write very long chapters, or at least reasonably long chapter, but I am leaving on holidays in a few days so I wanted to update all my stories first, and well, a long chapter for 3 stories is just not gonna happen.<strong>

**So, the usual drill. Please review and let me know what you think, preferably right now as I won't be able to check until over a month's time. I'll talk to you guys when I get back! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!**


	6. A Life Changing Decision

**So, after receiving some very lovely reviews, I decided to work on another chapter of this story...I do have many others going, and I really do love them, but I thought I owed it to those wonderful reviewers to at least try and keep this one going. Forgive me if it takes a while to get back into the swing of things with this story, it has been a while... :) My writing style is a little different at the moment, but PLEASE let me know what you think and give me some feedback to work off. I do really need to know what you all think, what works and what doesn't. Just a sentence or two really does go a long way, believe me. **

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but the plot and any OCs. Enjoy! **

* * *

><p><em>Claire leapt at her ex-boyfriend now good friend and shoved him into the wall. He hit it with a thud and the air rushed out of his lungs, so he doubled over. She stepped back, grinning and the other three people in the room were shocked at what had happened.<em>

_Gretchen recovered first. "Hey West. Do you feel like Chinese food?"_

* * *

><p>"I do, but I don't want to eat you out of house and home," he said politely, and Claire snorted.<p>

"We both know you're gonna do it anyway," she commented, rolling her eyes and pushing her hair back behind her ears. "Just join us for food. I'm not likely to get to sleep any time soon anyway."

"I'm sorry," West apologized, eyebrows raised. "The last time I checked, you didn't need sleep, Oh Mighty One."

Claire frowned at him. "And where would you get that idea genius?"

"Oh, just that time we went for a 'trip' to Africa...what was it you said?" Claire glared at him as he rubbed his chin as though pondering the wonders of the universe. "Oh yes!" he exclaimed, apparently recalling what he had been trying to. "'Don't worry about me West. I think I can cope without a few hours of sleep!'"

"Well, I couldn't exactly sleep with all your snoring," she retorted.

West put a hand to his chest as though he had been wounded. "I do not _snore_!"

"You do so you liar-"

"How about we all go and eat the food before it gets cold," Gretchen suggested, cutting off the coming argument. She had had some time to get to know West, and observe what he and Claire were like when together.

West perked up at the mention of food. "Oh yes! Wouldn't want it being wasted, would we?" he asked rhetorically before charging out of the room, headed for the kitchen.

"West, wait! I have to serve it out evenly!" Gretchen called after him as she walked out of the room, following him.

Claire turned to the two other 'men' in the room. "I must warn you, if West is here and food is involved, if you don't eat your food fast enough, he will ask for it."

Haldir chuckled, and Legolas offered a slight smirk. "He is an interesting young man. How long have you been dating him?"

Claire opened her mouth, looking like a fish. She was like this for a moment before recovering. "Oh...we're not...like that...any more," she finished lamely, and Haldir raised an eyebrow.

"Any more?" he asked, a smile dancing on his lips.

"Yeah. I knew him when we were younger, but...life got in the way, I guess. But we're still friends...well, sort of. We like to argue a lot," she told them, and they nodded.

"We noticed," Legolas scoffed.

Claire pursed her lips as an awkward silence settled over them, and all that could be heard was West and Gretchen arguing over the food in the kitchen.

"Well, after you," she said, ushering them through the doorway. It was then that she realised that she was still in her pyjamas, which consisted of sweats and a singlet top. Seeing as Haldir and Legolas were dressed in nice shirts and dress slacks, she though she should probably get changed. "I'll be there in a minute. I'm just going to get changed into something more...well, non casual, I guess."

Haldir turned back and nodded in acknowledgement before they both disappeared around the corner.

* * *

><p>"So, West," Gretchen began, wanting to start some conversation between them all. "How are you these days? I haven't seen you for a few months at least!"<p>

"Yeah, it has been a while," he replied as he shoved a spring roll into his mouth. "I am doing alright. Been pretty busy, but I was in town and I missed you both."

Gretchen chuckled. "You missed Claire, West," she told him, and he rolled his eyes.

"So, I didn't really get the pleasure of meeting this young man," Haldir said, and Gretchen's eyes widened.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't think about that. This is West. He is an old friend of Claire's, back from her high school days. West, this is Haldir and Legolas. They are some...new friends of mine."

West's fun attitude ended as he surveyed the two men. Legolas was sit upright, looking highly disinterested, and to West, Haldir was a little too interested.

"So, Haldir and Legolas. How did you meet Gretchen?" he asked cautiously, and they caught his undertone but ignored it.

"I...had something to discuss with Gretchen. Something important. So, I did talk to her, and we are still discussing it," he informed West, but he said no more as he was allowing Gretchen to make the decision of whether or not to tell West, and, in his heart, he didn't really want this strange young man knowing something so important.

Gretchen smiled, realizing what was going on. "It's okay, Haldir. West is an old friend. Haldir had some interesting information about my ancestry, and we started talking when he came by to have a chat with me about it," she explained, and West nodded, leaning back in his chair.

"What ancestry? Do explain," he said, smiling a little at Haldir.

"Should I tell him or should you?" Gretchen asked Claire with a smirk, but Claire was still feeling a little off about recent events, and thus was not in the mood.

"You know more than I do," Claire told her simply as she put down her half eaten carton of Chinese food. She had lost her appetite.

Gretchen frowned at her for a moment before turning back to West. "It seems that some of my ancestors may have been royalty, and they want to validate this possibility."

West bit his lip. "I understand why that would be interesting, but why would it need to be validated? And how would it be?"

Gretchen was about to reply, but Claire decided to cut her off. "I've got this one, Gretch," she assured her friend with a false smile. "Haldir wants Gretchen to go all the way to France, so they can put her through a series of tests to see if she is in fact a descendant of royalty. Isn't that exciting?" she asked sarcastically, and West frowned.

He looked over at Haldir and Legolas. "Is this true?" he asked them, and they nodded.

"Well, yes, but she would be quite safe," Haldir tried to assure West, but the young man was having none of it.

"How can you guarantee that?" he asked, looking at them questioningly.

"Well, the part of France I would like to take her to is remote and distant, and the crime rates are incredibly low. The nearest town is a small one, and is about a 15 minute drive from the castle," Hadlir informed him.

West nodded thoughtfully. "And how can you guarantee that you yourselves are exactly who you say you are?" he asked them suspiciously.

Legolas decided to answer this one. "I am afraid that we cannot do that for sure. We are simply asking Miss Berg to trust us, and, in return, we shall do everything in our power to assure that she lives a life of luxury from now on. There are many who have great respect for her possible ancestors and all they did and stood for, myself and Legolas included. There is a matter of a certain...fortune left by them also, that you would naturally inherit should it be revealed that you are a true heir."

"Well I'm sorry but the whole thing sounds ridiculous to me," Claire commented, trying to remain awake.

Haldir raised his eyebrows but remained respectfully silent. His friend, however, had different plans.

"I would suggest that you do not underestimate that which you do not know," he said haughtily, and Claire looked at him coolly.

"I was merely stating an opinion. Should you have a problem with my thoughts and expression of said thoughts, feel free to leave," she hissed, and Gretchen glared at her.

"Claire," she warned. "They are our guests."

Claire looked like she was about to reply, but West cut her off. "Claire, could we talk?" he asked her, hoping to get her away from this obviously stressful situation.

"Fine," she sighed, though she knew why West was taking her away. She was angry at the two other men, and she herself couldn't explain her anger.

He helped her up and they walked to her room, ignoring the eyes following them as they went.

Gretchen turned to Haldir and Legolas once Claire and West were out of hearing and sight.

"I am really sorry about that. Claire is...protective, and West wants her to be as happy as possible. They're kind of strange, I suppose. But that doesn't mean they can do what they did. I will talk to Claire about it later," she promised, and Haldir shook his head.

"No, that will not be necessary. She is merely looking after you, as all good friends should. She just doesn't have a filter for what she should and shouldn't say. It reminds me of someone else I know," Haldir commented, leaning back and looking in Legolas' general direction.

Legolas rolled his eyes. "I am not going to reply to that," he told his friend, and Haldir laughed.

Gretchen smiled. "Something's wrong with her, I can feel it. I just...I want to know what it is so I can help her. She is so closed off to me these days...all I want is for things to go back to the way they were back in our college days," she said wistfully. She was surprised at how much she had come to enjoy the company of the two men with her, and she was talking to them as though she had known them for years.

"Sometimes friends change, Miss Berg," Legolas told her sadly. "There is nothing you can do about it. Not everyone is as resilient as you seem to be."

"Unfortunately there is often little we can do for friends who end up like that, but we can love them and support them all the same. But, Gretchen, you must know that should Claire's problems and moods affect you negatively, you will need to separate yourself from her," Haldir informed her, and she frowned, feeling confused.

"Why? I don't understand. We have been best friends for years! I don't see why I would ever have to leave her," Gretchen replied.

"Because she will affect you," Legolas informed her. "You are living in the same house as her Gretchen, and you need to keep your spirits up. She does not seem to be the kind of company someone of your lineage should be associated with."

"We don't even know if I am certainly the descendant of those royals, and even so I don't understand why I would need to leave her behind. She is not a negative influence on me at all! She has looked after me in ways you couldn't begin to imagine, and has become like a sister to me over time. I would not give her up for anything!"

Legolas looked at her seriously. "You may not have a choice in the end."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing," Haldir cut in. "He means nothing." He looked pointedly at his friend. "It is your decision as to whether or not to trust and accompany us, and we will not hold it against you should you decide to remain here in your current life. However, just give me a ring any time you want to talk about possible pursuing this further, and I will be happy to assist you. I should also let you know that Claire is welcome to come with you if you want her to," he told her, and she smiled lightly.

"I do really want to come, I just...I don't know if Claire will really agree that it is a good idea. She doesn't really seem to trust you guys," she said ruefully.

"We have given her no reason to," Legolas told her. "But should she spend time with us, I am sure she would come to her senses," he assured her.

Gretchen sighed. "I suppose." She paused for a moment before making a big decision. One that would possibly change her life.

"Okay. I'll go."

* * *

><p>"So Hiro and Peter got me out of there and to safety, and I worked for a while before the sent me home," Claire finished, and there was a silence as West digested the information that had just been given to him.<p>

"So, you remember nothing about what happened to you?" he asked her, and she shook her head.

"Not a thing," she sighed. "I am so confused, and hurt...I don't know what to think any more. I can't be sure of anything or anyone!"

He wrapped an arm around her. "Well, you will always have me, and I will always be right there behind you. I will look after you, no matter what it takes. I failed you once, but I swear to you now it will never happen again. If you ever need anything, let me know. If you're ever in any trouble, call me, and I will come for you. You can trust me, Claire. You say there is nothing left you can be sure of? Nothing you can trust? You can trust _me_."

Claire simply nodded and wiped her eyes.

"You can't go back, you know," he told her softly.

"Back where?"

"Back to Primatech. It's too dangerous. I can't let you go back there Claire. I can't let you be hurt over and over again...I have to protect you!" he said, his voice full of conviction.

"Thank you West, but I have to know how they made me hurt! I...I don't know if it is a good thing or not, or if something is happening to me...and I don't understand how I could've woken up in that coffin! I usually wake up at the slightest noise, and I can't be knocked out...what if my ability is failing? What if I'm...running out or something?"

"It's going to be okay, Claire. It's going to be okay. I promise."

Claire leaned forward and West wrapped his arms around her, breathing in the scent of her soft hair. Maybe she would never love him again, like she had when they were younger, but maybe, just maybe, he could make sure she could have enough light in her heart to love another.

* * *

><p>"Well I don't really like that Legolas fellow, but other than that, I think that went well," Claire said happily to Gretchen as West shut the door. Their guests had all left, and they were left with the horrible feeling of a forthcoming argument.<p>

Gretchen glared at her friend. "Yeah, I agree. Completely, actually. Especially the moment when you COLLAPSED BEHIND A LOCKED DOOR!"

Claire was taken aback at her usually calm friend's outburst. "Gretchen, there is no need to be so angry. You're annoyed at me, I get that, but I really didn't mean to-"

"Look, I have had enough of you hiding everything from me. I know something is up! Why else would Peter and Mohinder be around here with the snap of your fingers?"

"It wasn't a snap of my fingers," Claire grumbled back. "More like the collapse of my legs."

"Ha! So you admit it!"

"Admit what?"

"You didn't 'fall asleep'!" she accused. "You collapsed!"

Claire felt her heart sink. "I...I-"

"No. Admit it!" Gretchen yelled.

"Okay, fine," she hissed. "I collapsed. I don't know how, or why, but I did. And it scares me. But you know what? I am not going to even think about it, because I am going to just keep going. I have no choice, Gretchen. Now just...stop, okay?"

Gretchen opened her mouth to reply, but Claire had already slammed her bedroom door behind her.

* * *

><p>"Well," Legolas began as he and Haldir walked back into the apartment they had decided to share. "That was..."<p>

"Interesting," Haldir finished.

"Yes. It was."

Haldir hung his coat on the rack and moved plopped himself down onto the couch with a sigh. Legolas, ever the proper one even in this day and age, removed his cloak slowly and delicately and folded it in half over his arm before hanging it over the back of a chair and sitting himself down slowly and gracefully.

"What did you think of the heiress?" Haldir asked, leaning back on the chair and putting his feet up on the glass coffee table.

Legolas frowned at the shoes on the table, but made no comment. "She reminds me of Arwen."

Haldir nodded. "Aye. That she does. She is special, isn't she?"

"I suppose. She has her heritage to thank for that," Legolas commented, remembering his old friends.

"But she is also her own person. She has Estel's spark and Arwen's light. A perfect combination."

Legolas smirked at his old friend. "I knew you were fond of mortals, but not to this extent," he said, obviously amused.

"She has simply...intrigued me. She is a good woman," he said decidedly.

Legolas snorted lightly. "She is but a child in the eyes of an Eldar."

Haldir's eye flashed to him with a strange fire in them. "As was Estel, yet he managed to save countless lives. I have no doubt that Gretchen will do the same."

"I am not so sure," Legolas said sceptically.

"Why not?" Haldir asked, feeling slightly offended in a strange way.

"She can't even go somewhere for a few days without bringing her guard dog!" he exclaimed.

Haldir frowned. "I assume by 'guard dog' you mean her friend, Claire?"

"The one that 'fell asleep' in the bathroom? Yes. And about that. You and I both know she was lying when she said she had fallen asleep. She was unconscious in there, and you know it!"

"I agree that Claire is not all she seems, but that does not mean that we must assume that she is a bad protector for the heiress. Also, just because Gretchen-"

"Not a bad proector? She must have been on some kind of drugs or something to make her collapse like that! I hardly think that makes her a suitable guardian for _Miss Berg_. I don't like the whole situation at all. It doesn't sit right with me."

"I do agree that something is not right, but I do honestly believe that Gretchen is the one who can help us, and if she believes that Claire can help her, then I trust her judgement."

Legolas smirked once more. "You've become awfully fond of this mortal, haven't you?"

Haldir looked a little uncomfortable. "I just...I have a feeling that she will do well for us. She has a good heart and soul, I can see it in her eyes. Her friend might be questionable...but she will not come if we do not allow Claire to accompany her."

"She is weak," Legolas scoffed.

"She is cautious," Haldir corrected. "And I commend her for that quality. It is rare in humans these days."

"Evidently. There is war and destruction everywhere we turn. I do believe the elves did wrong to assume that after the War of the Ring their time to help with this land was over. If they were still here, perhaps the world would not have fallen into such chaos."

"There is hope yet for humanity. It's errors are great, but so are it's saviours. This world can be saved from the darkness. All that is needed is determination."

"Who will even bother? Humans spend all their time indulging in their own selfish wants. They do not care about the fate of their neighbours, let alone the entire world. Who will save humanity? There is no Estel to lead the way, nor will those left in this world bother to follow a leader. The president may try his best, but one man can only do so much to undo thousands of years of destruction. Their greed has consumed this land, and we stand to gain naught from remaining here."

"Hope remains while the heiress lives. We cannot abandon this land on the mere basis that you, my friend, was not impressed by her. Your standards are much higher than that of many. We have both lived to see many great civilizations rise and fall, yet at the end of the day, all we have is one another and the small hope that somehow we can stop the darkness of this world. End the war, the hunger, the terror...make it the place the elves thought they left behind. We are guardians of this earth for a reason, and it is our duty to try our best. Do not decide the fate of this world on your own opinions! Give her a chance, and she will pull through."

Legolas bowed his head, looking at the ground by his feet. "I know, my friend. I just..." He sighed heavily, as though the weight of the world rested upon his shoulders, which it did. "I have lost hope. It has been so long..."

"I know, Legolas. I know. But she is a bright girl with a good heart. She will pull through. She has to."

"I hope you are right, my friend. I really do."

* * *

><p>The next morning, Claire rolled out of bed at 9 and slipped on a pair of socks, heading out to the kitchen where she could hear Gretchen opening and closing cupboards.<p>

She entered the room, and Gretchen ignored her as she unpacked the dishwasher, giving the dishes a once over with a cloth before putting them away in their places.

Claire sighed, leaning against the counter. "Would you like some help?" she offered, but Gretchen merely shook her head. "Gretchen, please," Claire begged. "Talk to me."

Gretchen sighed heavily and slammed a door, whirling to face her friend. "What should I say, Claire? You're lying to me again, and you completely humiliated me last night! What Haldir and Legolas think matters to me. A lot. I'm sorry if that doesn't quite fit with your plans, but I did really care about last night. Haldir is a good man, and I am sure Legolas is too. I would like to have friends that don't lie to me!"

"I'm sorry, Gretchen, but...there are certain things that I don't tell you because I don't want to talk about them. It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that it hurts to talk about them," Claire explained.

"Well it's time to explain, Claire," Gretchen told her, folding her arms over her chest. "I want to know what is going on. For once, please, just tell me the truth!"

"Fine," Claire sighed. "Primatech is back, and I am working for them."

Gretchen's eyes widened. "So you're working for the people that were your enemies? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense."

"It's not like it was any more Gretchen. Peter, Matt and Mohinder run it. It's pretty much a completely different company, but with the same cover. Primatech Paper worked in the past, and it's working again."

"So, when you go for these trips to see your father..." Gretchen began.

"My father and I haven't been on civil speaking terms for over a year," Claire admitted, feeling bad about yet another lie. "I'm sorry for lying to you, Gretchen. I really am! I didn't want you to worry about me every time I left...but West isn't a part of it, and he wants me to stop."

"Why? I thought that you like working for Primatech?" Gretchen asked.

"I did...but it's getting to be too much. I don't want to abandon them though...I am thinking that maybe it would be good for me to take a bit of a break from them for a while," she said, and Gretchen nodded.

"We could go to France together," she suggested, and Claire nodded, letting a little smile show on her lips.

"I'd like that."

"So it's a plan?" Gretchen asked, and Claire nodded. "I'll call Haldir and let him know when I'm done here."

"You know what? You obviously really like talking to Haldir, so I can finish up here and you can go and give him a ring. Just don't talk for more than an hour...the phone bill is big enough as is."

Gretchen chuckled. "Thank you. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

Claire realized that it would probably be for the best if she told Gretchen about her last mission, but decided to wait. "It can keep. Now go! Your Prince awaits!"

Claire laughed and shook her head as Gretchen grabbed the phone from it's place on the wall and walked out of the room.

Relief filled her as she realized that all the secrecy with Gretchen was over. Well, most of it. There was, of course, still the small matter of her last mission and all that had happened since, but as she had told her friend; it could keep.

* * *

><p>Haldir and Legolas sat at the table of the motel room they were staying at, enjoying a breakfast of bacon, eggs, juice and pancakes, brought to them by room service. It was nothing compared to the food they used to eat in Lothorien and Mirkwood, but it would do.<p>

"Food is becoming incredibly bland," Legolas commented, breaking the silence.

"I know what you mean, my friend," Haldir replied. "Flavour seems to be a thing of the past." He stopped eating when his phone vibrated in his pocket. Placing his cutlery down gently, he pulled it out of his pocket and flipped it open.

"Hello?" he said, and was delighted to hear a familiar voice on the other end.

"Hello Haldir, it's me, Gretchen," she told him, and he smiled.

"Hello Gretchen. Is there something I can do for you?" he asked, and he heard the young human woman take a deep breath on the other end.

"I actually just called to give you some news," she explained, and he nodded, though she couldn't see him.

"And what was that?" he prompted.

"Well, I was just talking with Claire, and she made a decision about France," she elaborated, and Haldir immediately looked up to meet Legolas' eyes, both of them very intrigued by what the heiress had to say.

"And what decision did she make?"

"She has decided to give it a shot," Gretchen said finally, and she could practically hear Haldir smiling.

"That is wonderful news, Gretchen!" he exclaimed, and Gretchen couldn't help but smile at his tone.

"Yes, well, I think we need a holiday, and what better place to go then France?"

"Indeed. Well, I should tell Legolas now, but we are very glad that you have agreed to come. I hope to see you soon, Gretchen."

"Me too. Bye Haldir," she said.

"Bye."

* * *

><p><strong>So, there is the next chapter for y'all! I hope you enjoyed! Please let me know what you thought in the form of a review! :) <strong>


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